Scarlett Johansson - Page 2

The superheroes at the center of Avengers: Age of Ultron resonate so strongly with so many people because they’re so deeply entrenched in popular culture. Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk were around for years before Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo were even born. These aren’t just characters – they’re icons. And while serious comic book nerds know how much Earth’s mightiest heroes have changed with the times, taking a look back at what the likes of Black Widow and Hawkeye and the Vision used to look like is both entertaining and (dare we say it?) educational.

Typically while doing press rounds for any film that’s perceived as male-oriented, actresses are often asked the dumbest, most sexist questions over and over and over again, while their male co-stars get to answer the awesome questions. Women get asked about their diets, outfits and makeup, while men are asked about filming action sequences and their opinion about the film’s headier concepts. But one very clever reporter flipped the script in a recent interview with Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson, and the results are hilarious.

Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight has previously spoken of his interest in a second Netflix season, though the Marvel drama has since revealed its renewal plans without DeKnight at the helm. Now, series star Charlie Cox has his own thoughts on where Daredevil Season 2 might go, including Defenders ties, Avengers crossover, and even The Punisher.

SNL won’t return for another week with Avengers: Age of Ultron star Scarlett Johansson suiting up on May 2, and #NoSpoilers, but we already know how Season 40 will end. Hot Pursuit star Reese Witherspoon will host the subsequent week, while Louis C.K. will take the stage for the May 16 SNL finale.

Here we go again. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow was largely absent in the merchandise from the first Avengers film, and you would think that Disney might learn their lesson for Age of Ultron, but they sadly have not. Once again, the lady Avenger is suspiciously left out of the fun in Disney’s newest round of merchandise, featured on only three items. Sorry, boys and girls, but if you’re a Black Widow fan, you’ll just have to make your own action figure.

There’s a lot to like about Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the coolest thing about it is the way it reclaims the comic book part of the phrase “comic-book movie.” Rather than using these characters to do something “edgy” or “adult” or “important,” or sanding down their quirkier edges to appeal to as broad and mainstream an audience as possible, Age of Ultron doubles down on its source material’s geeky origins.

Scarlett Johansson made an impressive, ass-kicking debut in Iron Man 2, but she really solidified herself as more than just a resourceful spy with amazing gymnastic skills in the first Avengers film. Since then, we’ve been dying for Black Widow to get her own solo movie, and as excited as we’ve all be for Marvel to make their female-centric superhero movie debut with Captain Marvel, it’s odd that the studio hasn’t announced a Black Widow film yet. According to Scarlett Johansson, it’s been a topic of conversation.

When an actor signs on to play a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they typically aren’t signing up for a single movie. They’re signing up for a whole bunch — sometimes as many as nine films — so Marvel can plan ahead for years, scoping out where a character can go over the course of several appearances. But contracts run out and some actors managed to finagle their way in without signing up for a bunch of movies in advance. So superhero movie fans always wonder just how many more times they’ll get to see Chris Evans play Captain America or Robert Downey Jr. play Iron Man. How many movies are left on their contract? What’s next?

If The Avengers feel like one big, slightly dysfunctional family, it's because they are. And that applies to off-screen as well as on. Playing off that chemistry, the cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron — Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner — appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and played a rousing game of Family Feud.

SNL will let the Empire cool its heels a bit after Taraji P Henson dropped Cookie all over the stage this weekend, but May 2 will bring out the big guns in the wake of Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Black Widow herself, Scarlett Johansson will take the SNL stage for a fourth time as our first May host.